7 facts that should raise a red flag about information security in the supply chain:
The major information security company, Symantec, reports an increase in penetration attempts in the supply chain to target victim companies. Between 2016 and 2017, there was a 150% rise in attack attempts aimed at the supply chain. These attacks are often carried out through innocent-looking requests for “software updates.”
In what was defined as the “most destructive cyber attack in history,” the world’s largest shipping company, A.P. Møller-Maersk, fell victim to a cyber attack using the NotPetya malware after installing accounting software in Ukraine. The software served as a “gateway” for infiltrating the shipping giant’s computer systems, leading to the shutdown of thousands of computers, delayed shipments, and significant financial damages to various companies worldwide.
Even well-known companies are not immune to cyber breaches: Yahoo had items stolen from over three billion users, Uber had data stolen from 57 million users, and sports apparel company Under Armour reported a breach in its sports application, putting 150 million users at risk.
Do cyber breaches only happen among companies and individuals? Definitely not! Even the US Air Force experienced a breach. In 2018, a hobbyist hacker managed to break into the computer of a US Air Force officer using a well-known and documented vulnerability, stealing classified information related to unmanned aerial vehicles. The hacker attempted to sell the information for a meager sum of $150.
The British Standards Institution revealed that there are 3.1 attempted terrorist breaches targeting companies in the supply chain every week. These breach attempts occur in 86 countries, nearly 30% of the countries monitored by the British Standards Institution’s intelligence agencies. 6. A report from the security company Symantec found that in 2018, the number of cyber attacks in the supply chain increased by 78%. 7. Between 2013 and 2018, cyber attacks were the number one cause of disruption in the regular operations of supply chain companies, surpassing natural disasters and terrorist attacks.
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